


A Long Ways Past Lunchtime

by radondoran



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Community: genprompt_bingo, Gen, Like Filler "Like", POV First Person, Stream of Consciousness, hunger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 05:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2720618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radondoran/pseuds/radondoran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Mystery Machine is out of fuel.  So is Shaggy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Long Ways Past Lunchtime

I guess my stomach quit growling because it figured nobody was listening. Now the clenching pangs have moved up to, like, right behind my eyes to try and get my attention and it's like, dude, body, I get it! Cool it already, I know I'm hungry. Everybody's hungry so quit whining. Just like Velma said to me when we first started walking. Seriously though, if we were planning to get stranded in a creepy haunted forest, like couldn't we have brought a sack lunch?

People are always like, how do you eat so much and stay so thin, and I’m always like, like probably from all the running, Scoob and me spend a lot of time running for our lives; but I guess it's probably also my, like... It’s a science word. Meta...morphosis? Uh-uh. M...atsutake. Oh god, now I'm even hungrier. Because of that thing where it’s like, some people use up fuel faster than others, or whatever? I guess that makes me a total gas-guzzler. Hey, kinda like the Mystery Machine. Like at this rate we’re both gonna end up broken down in the middle of nowhere.

Just gotta keep walking. It's eight miles to the ranger station--no, wait a minute, that's what Velma said last time we stopped, which means by now it must be about, um, like, not eight anymore. Less than eight. Ooh, and like, speaking of ate, I'm starved!

... That didn't work at all. Like this headache must be taking its toll on my usual sparkling wit.

I wonder if the park rangers have food. Like, if I was a park ranger I'd always keep a bag of marshmallows under my hat just in case! Right now I'd rather roast hot dogs, though--turn 'em over the fire until they're nice and brown and sizzling, with those like speckly burned bits.... I don't think I could wait long enough to get it properly done. And cooling, like forget it.

Yeah, I guess I don't wanna cook. Maybe before we get gas and go back for the van, somebody'll, like, give us a ride to town and we can get a real dinner. I remember we passed that all-nite diner. Diner food, man oh man does that sound good. French-fried potatoes... crispy onion rings... Like, I can practically hear those big, beautiful cheeseburgers calling my name.

"Shaggy?"

_Yes, cheeseburgers?_

"You're falling behind."

I squeeze my eyes shut a couple of times. Freddie's a little ways ahead, looking back at me through the trees. Everything else is going so dim and bluish that his sweater's, like, practically floating there glowing all ghostly-like. "C'mon. We've got to stick together."

"Right." I hurry to catch up. My face feels damp with hot sweat that goes cold right away in the wind. I don't wanna think about food anymore. "Um--like by the way Freddie, you weren't a gigantic talking cheeseburger just now, were you?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Oh." I can hear how dry my throat is. "Groovy."

"Rhaggy! Rhere you are!"

Scooby-Doo! He's been up front, like, using the ol' super-sniffer to help with navigation--so like, everybody's stopped here... like, waiting for me. If Scoob goes for the hug I think we'll go down like a couple of dominos. No--like I guess he's not exactly full of pep right now either. I just pet him by way of greeting.

Like Daphne's gotta be exhausted, I wouldn't want to be in her shoes--I mean like literally. But she like runs the two steps towards Fred and me, and she smiles. She puts her arm around my shoulders a couple seconds, kinda pulling me forwards. "You've got to be more careful--we don't want to lose you."

Velma's looking at the map again. She looks at me and says, "This way, gang," and her voice is, like, quiet, like tired but gentle too maybe, like she doesn't wanna make my head ache worse. "Less than two miles to go. We'll be sitting down to supper before it gets dark."

I take a deep breath, kinda pull myself together. I step up ready to follow Scooby and Velma. Daphne and Fred are bringing up the rear now, so like, I guess I can't get left behind. It's like being trapped, almost, except in a good way--I'm totally surrounded by my friends.

I manage a smile. "Then like, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"


End file.
